The National Rally (RN), formerly known as the National Front (FN), is a right-wing populist party in France, founded on 5 October 1972 by Holocaust denier and fascist ideologue Jean-Marie Le Pen. The National Front united several French nationalist and anti-immigration parties, and Le Pen became known as the "Devil of the Republic" for denying the existence of Holocaust gas chambers and for his far-right rhetoric. After 1984, it became a major party, and it beat the Socialist Party of France's candidate Lionel Jospin during the first round of the 2002 elections, only to lose to Union for a Popular Movement candidate Jacques Chirac in every department during the second round. Since then, the National Front has grown as a fascist party, especially after the rise of the Islamic State and a wave of jihadist terrorist attacks in Europe that occurred during the 2010s. By 2015, the party was one of the largest in France, and it became the most popular party among French citizens ages 18-34 due to its populist rhetoric. In 2017, the party beat the conservative "The Republicans" party in the first round of the presidential elections, running against Emmanuel Macron's centrist "En Marche!" party, which Le Pen called a historic moment. She demanded an immediate end to immigration in France, withdrawal from the European Union, isolationism, and the enforcement of the ban on wearing religious articles in public, making her a divisive and controversial candidate. In April 2017, her party held 1/577 National Assembly seats, 2/348 Senate seats, and 22/74 European Parliament seats. In 2015, the party had 85,000 members. The party renamed itself to the "National Rally" on 1 June 2018, recalling the National Popular Rally party of Vichy France.
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